South Africa are one of the dark horses to win CWC in my opinion. They have been in some epic knockout games in past CWCs but just not quite been able to make it through to the final. Will they be able to do it this time round! Get the inside scoop on South Africa's Cricket Squad for the upcoming GameDay Squad competition with an in-depth analysis and preview. Find out who to watch out for!
Squad
Temba Bavuma – Battler
Gerald Coetzee – Bowler
Quinton de Kock – Wicket-keeper
Reeza Hendricks – Batter
Marco Jansen – All-rounder
Heinrich Klaasen – Wicket-keeper
Keshav Maharaj – Bowler
Aiden Markram – All-rounder
David Miller – Batter
Lungi Ngidi – Bowler
Andile Phehlukwayo – All-rounder
Kagiso Rabada – Bowler
Tabraiz Shamsi – Bowler
Rassie van der Dussen - Batter
Lizaad Williams – Bowler
Batters
South Africa goes into the tournament with four players that have a batter position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the batters.
Temba Bavuma – 80 points
Reeza Hendricks – 40 points
David Miller - 49 points
Rassie van der Dussen – 42 points
Bavuma has been the inform batter for South Africa coming into the CWC and averages 61 runs with the bat this year. Over his last ten ODIs he’s scored three 100s, two 50s, two 30+ scores and four scores of less than 8. I have Miller and van der Dussen ranked in a tier below Bavuma as they haven’t shown the same sort of form in 2023. Over Miller’s last ten ODIs he’s scored three 50s, two 30+ scores and four scores of less than 17, including a duck. Over van der Dussen’s last ten ODIs he’s scored one 100, one 50, two 30+ scores and six scores of less than 25. I tend to favour van der Dussen out of these two batters as he bats higher up the order and will have a greater chance of scoring runs. Hendricks is likely not to play many games but can be a solid option depending on the opposition.
Bowlers
South Africa goes into the tournament with six players that have a bowler position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the bowlers.
Gerald Coetzee – 66 points
Keshav Maharaj – 67 points
Lungi Ngidi – 64 points
Kagiso Rabada – 84 points
Tabraiz Shamsi – 60 points
Lizaad Williams – 33 points
South Africa has a well-balanced bowling attack that will likely be spearheaded by Rabada, Ngidi and Maharaj. Over Rabada’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 85 overs, taken 19 wickets and averages 3.4 dot balls an over. Over Ngidi’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 77 overs, taken 14 wickets and averages 3.4 dot balls an over. Over Maharaj’s last nine ODIs he has bowled 72 overs, taken 13 wickets and averages 3.2 dot balls an over. These three bowlers are the pick of the South Africa bowlers for me. Coetzee and Shamsi are in my next tier down as I think South Africa will play one and not the other in most matches in the CWC. They can be very useful cards to have as they may have their chance for a few starts but that depends on what the pitch conditions South Africa are faced with. Williams is likely not to play many games but can be a solid option depending on the opposition.
All-rounders
South Africa doesn’t have as many all-rounders as other teams and head into the tournament with three players that have the all-rounder position designation in GDS. Jansen and Phehlukwayo are the bowling all-rounders and Markram is the batting all-arounder. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the all-rounders.
Marco Jansen – 92 points
Aiden Markram – 101 points
Andile Phehlukwayo – 47 points
When choosing which all-rounder to play in your squad it really depends on where South Africa is playing, who their opposition is and the pitch conditions. It looks likely that Jansen and Markram will be starting for South Africa in most games. Over Jansen’s last ten ODIs he has scored four 30+ scores, four scores between 11-23, bowled 76 overs, taken 15 wickets and averages 3.4 dot balls an over. Over Markram’s last ten ODIs he has scored three 100s, two 50s, one 30+ score, four scores between 3-24, bowled 39 overs, taken 4 wickets and averages 2.7 dot balls an over. Just note that Markram hasn’t been called upon to bowl in any of South Africa’s last five ODIs. Both Jansen and Markram are two of the best all-rounders at the CWC in fantasy terms and will likely start in my squad most matches. Phehlukwayo is likely not to play many games but can be a solid option depending on the opposition.
Wicket Keeper
South Africa goes into the tournament with two players that have a wicket-keeper position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the wicket keepers.
Quinton de Kock – 68 points
Heinrich Klaasen – 71 points
On the field de Kock is the keeper, and this generally gives him a safer floor. Klaasen has been in good form with the bat in 2023 and has scored two centuries. On any given day he is certainly able to score more runs than de Kock but with de Kock opening the batting, I believe he is the better starting choice of the two for your GDS starting XI.
Predicted Starting XI
1. Quinton de Kock
2. Temba Bavuma
3. Rassie van der Dussen
4. Aiden Markram
5. Heinrich Klaasen
6. David Miller
7. Marco Jansen
8. Gerald Coetzee
9. Keshav Maharaj
10. Kagiso Rabada
11. Lungi Ngidi